THE VIOLET HOUR (2010)

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"Consistently surprising . . . Montanari keeps the reader deliciously off balance throughout, letting the novel accrue horrors and deft misdirections, right until its gory end."  - Publishers Weekly

"The novel is, like the nameless killer's victims, well executed. And like the killer himself, fiendishly twisted. A real page turner." - Booklist

Johnny Angel is found brutally murdered with a dead prostitute in his bed and a needle full of heroin in his arm. It's all the more shocking because he's a priest. But when Dr Bennett Marc Crane, a prestigious plastic surgeon, is the next victim of a vicious attack of the same manner, it becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose.

And as this homicidal maniac exacts his vengeance upon more innocent victims, evidence of another long-buried crime is uncovered. One that starts with a Halloween celebration at an exclusive college party twenty years ago and ends with a murderous plan for delayed revenge.

For Nicky Stella, a hungry journalist, this is just the sort of sordid story that could land him a cover article. But when he digs a bit too deep, the killer's attention turns towards Nicky and he must find the killer before he becomes the next victim.

Visit Richard at the Random House UK site.